2026 Judges

2026 Judges:

Aurelia has performed and worked with top circus companies and festivals worldwide and won multiple awards along the way. Aurelia has judged at prestigious festivals such as Monte Carlo and Festival mondial du cirque de demain in Paris. As a mentor and judge, she helps Artists refine their skills and grow professionally. Known for her expertise in Circus and her commitment to artistic excellence, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her workshops, offering participants an opportunity to grow technically, creatively, and professionally.

Greg Pennes joins De Leon Cirque Fest™ as a Casting Advisor and Scout, bringing a rare combination of Olympic-level athletic experience and world-class cirque pedigree. A former Cirque du Soleil artist, Greg performed in Mystère and as a featured character in Michael Jackson ONE before transitioning into global casting and acrobatic scouting.

Greg now works across Cirque du Soleil’s worldwide productions as an Acrobatic Scout and Casting Advisor, identifying and nurturing talent for the stage. In addition to his casting work, he has extensive experience as a coach, artistic coordinator, and acrobatic designer for shows, events, and training programs, regularly supporting kids, athletes, and professional artists in both their technical and artistic development.​

Dasha Sobelman is a Moscow Circus School graduate whose performance career has included companies such as Nikulin Moscow Circus with her solo tissue act and 14 years with Cirque du Soleil at the Beatles: LOVE show. Her tenure at LOVE included performing aerial straps and body loop as two of the main characters in the show, aerial rope, bungee, and serving as both an artist captain and artist coach. She also performed, choreographed, and directed pieces for multiple years of A Choreographer’s Showcase and performed at the One Night for One Drop Charity Gala by Cirque du Soleil.

Dasha believes that everyone has something special about them and loves helping each artist find their unique spark. In her eyes, authenticity and generosity in the performance are the twin pillars of live entertainment and is passionate about working with aspiring performers to tell compelling stories onstage. Dasha has a very artistic, theatrical approach to circus and loves seeing characters come to life onstage. 

Scott McDonald is an acrobatic coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer known for his creative, unorthodox approach to a wide variety of disciplines. He loves teaching students of all ages and levels using a safe, fun, and progressive method that emphasizes communication and celebrating progress. In addition to coaching, Scott creates curricula and programs for circus studios, works as an acrobatic designer for productions of all shapes and sizes, publishes and presents circus-related research internationally, runs an annual national medical conference entitled Circus Meets Medicine, and enjoys sharing his detailed tutorials, Circus Source Podcast, and Circus Artists React series on his Youtube channel. Check out his instagram at @scottamcdonald or his website at www.scottmcdonaldcoaching.com to learn more! 

Johnny Kim is an Artistic Director and creative leader with over a decade of experience in contemporary circus and theatrical performance. He has served as an Artistic Director for major international companies including Franco Dragone and  Cirque du Soleil, contributing to acclaimed productions such as TOTEM, ALEGRIA, and BAZZAR. Most recently, he was part of the re-creation and relaunch of House of Dancing Water in Macau, China, where he served as Resident Director, working closely with multidisciplinary teams and performers across a wide range of aerial and acrobatic disciplines.

With a background spanning classical piano, dance, musical theatre, and circus arts, his perspective bridges technical precision and performance artistry. Having served for the past three years as a juror for the Circus International Film Festival, he brings experience evaluating work across youth, emerging, and professional levels. In his evaluative approach, he prioritizes clarity of execution, movement quality, musicality, and presence, while valuing individuality, intention, and ensemble awareness. He approaches assessment with a focus on both excellence and development, viewing performance as a powerful vehicle for connection, storytelling, and human expression.

As a child, Kristina Ivanova-Dawson’s family toured with a Mexican circus, where she expanded her skills in acrobatics, tumbling, hula hoops, and hand-to-hand, training under the guidance of her father who was a world champion in acro tumbling. At just ten years old, her father joined Cirque du Soleil, and by 11, Kristina signed her first professional contract with Cirque Du Soleil’s legendary show “Alegría”, performing as one of the main characters, the Nymph, as well as in tumbling. 

In 2003, at age 18, Kristina transferred to “La Nouba” as an acrobat/tumbler in Orlando, Florida and in 2017, she relocated to Las Vegas to join “Mystère”, performing teeterboard flyer, power tumbling, and bungee until the pandemic.

Following the industry’s pause, Kristina moved to Minnesota, where she began coaching Pro track and youth at Circus Juventas, inspiring the next generation of performers. In 2025, Kristina returned to the international stage at the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo, performing as a supporting artist in Strongman Tulga’s act. and in addition, runs her own International Casting Agency (ICA) that casts artists worldwide for a variety of shows internationally. 

She is very excited to join the team of De Leon Cirque Fest.

Michael Lanphear performed his aerial straps act in international touring productions including Britney Spears’ Circus Tour, Soap the Show, and Cirque Éloize. After retiring from the stage, he discovered a passion for coaching and went on to create and coach for Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia (2016) and Crystal (2017). Most recently, Michael has served as an Acrobatic Casting Associate for AIDA Cruises, helping expand international casting markets.

What he values most in this role is bringing together multicultural acrobatic artists from around the world and seeing them thrive as a unified ensemble. Michael and the AIDA Casting Department are thrilled to be scouting talent and awarding cash prizes at this year’s De Leon Cirque Fest.

Jason Myhre is a graduate of the Chicago Academy for the Arts High School. His dance training also includes scholarships from Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Chicago City Ballet, and LADA/EDGE Performing Arts Center.

Jason has performed in numerous industrials for Disney, Kraft, Six Flags, and showcase around the Los Angeles area. He is a noted choreographer as well. Highlights include; Rihanna, Paula Abdul, Willow Smith, Melody Thornton, Robin Thicke, Paulina Rubio, Ciara, Amerie, Shakira, Mariah Carey, The Pussycat Dolls, Babyface, Ricky Martin, Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Bleona, Neko Case, Debi Nova, Stacie Orrico, SmittenBLU, Lil’ Kim, Shoshana Bean, Anastacia, Clipper Girls, Rock The Rink, Kristi Yamaguchi, Rory Flack- Burghart, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Old Navy Commercials, and the Wayans Brothers hit movie “White Chicks.”

Jason has worked with such artists on World Tours, Music Videos, the MTV Superbowl half-time show, and music award television specials. Jason has also choreographed the Emmy and Oscar Governors Balls, NBCC benefits and created shows for Imagination Entertainment.

He also has judged and choreographed for such competitions/conventions as; AMP, Encore Performing Arts, Spotlight Dance Cup, Broadway Bound, Dance Masters, LADF Nationals, HDE, and LADM’s Final Cut.

As a teacher Jason has taught master classes across the nation, at EDGE & Millennium LA professional studios. He was also the Director of Jazz Dance at Loyola Marymount University for almost 20 years.